Boom! The cannon fired off. I watched as the cannon ball flew through the air right toward our ship. It struck the Candlelight with a big blow. I ran to the stern with a bucket. A started scooping water off the boat. It wasn't working, the boat started to lean. Boom! Another cannon ball hit the boat. The Candlelight still stood. Then, a pirate from the opposing vessel swung across to our boat. he threw a match at a gunpowder barrel. I ran to the edge of the boat and jumped. The boat exploded as I hit the water.
When I woke up, I was on the shore of an island. I got up an walked toward an old looking bridge that went across a canyon. As I walked across it, it broke. I fell, knowing that this would be my end. I thought back to when my father sent me with the pirates because he hated me. Why, why would I think of that right before my death?
Wham! I smacked against the canyon floor, definitely breaking a few ribs. Everything spun. How was I still alive? I slowly stood up, dazed. I noticed that I had a bloody nose. I ripped off part of my shirt and held it aver my nose. I slowly made my way to the canyon wall. Holding a hand against it, I know noticed a weird pattern running along it. It looked as if it was just random designs. But, as I looked closer, I could tell that there was same significance behind it. I ran my had along it. As I did so, I heard a voice behind me.
"Come."
I turned around, hoping that it wasn't going to turn into a duel. Then, I noticed that the man was unarmed. He was wearing nothing, besides a clothe wrapped between his legs. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo on his chest of the markings that were on the wall. Instantly, I remembered seeing the mark before.
It was when my father sent me off. One of the pirates was without a shirt. On his chest, was the mark. He had been the one that cared for me, I never learned his name. But, one day, he went missing. It was a stormy day. My blonde hair flew in the wind, my hazel eyes were filled with terror. The captain told me to forget about it, and that the man with the mark was a traitor.
I looked at the man in the canyon with me. He, he was the "traitor". I couldn't believe it. I thought the captain had killed him and threw his body out to see. But, no. He was alive the whole time, but if he's here does that mean that he really is a traitor? No, that couldn't be. Could it? I stared at him and asked him.
"Are you really a traitor?"
"Yes," he replied. I was full of hatred. I don't know why? I guess because he was the only father figure I ever actually had. Then again, maybe my father was just doing the best for me.
"Come," the marked man said.
"Fine," I didn't want to come with him, more of kill him. We walked into the darkness of the canyon.
"How old are you now, William?" he asked.
Not that stupid name again. William is my name, but most people just call me Cannonball. It's a nickname from the crew. We all have cool ones like that. Like, Captain Fatty, that's more of one the crew keeps to ourselves.
"14," I answered.
We stopped talking after that. Soon we arrived at a cave. We went in. There was three other marked men standing there. And I recognized one. I thought back to when my father told me I had to leave. A ship had just pulled up to the harbor. Pirates. Although the were disguised as merchants, everyone knew who they really were. They came to my door. I thought, then, that my father hated me, but now I remember, the man that never cries had a tear trickle down his face. And now, the man here, in the cave, was my father!
My father! He was with this weird tribe of marked men. I eyeballed him up and down. This couldn't be. I felt a surge of anger. I pulled out my sword and charged my father. Another marked man leaped at me, pushing me to the ground. I jumped up and jabbed my sword into the attackers heart. He gasped for air, but none came, he was dead. I reared up and went for my father. This time, no one stopped me, I made it to my father, sliced his left cheek, and pulled back. My father picked up a rock and flung it at me. I ducked, and it hit the marked man behind me. Now, it was just me, my father, and the man who brought me here. My father, then, picked a short sword up, off the ground.
I ran at my father. He held his sword in front of him to block. Clang! Our swords hit and locked. Shunk! I pulled my sword away and went for his heart. I almost made it, but I felt a sharp pain in my back. I hit the ground and everything went black.
Part II.
I was in the crew quarters of a boat. There was a stinging in my back.
"Smar!" A man yelled. "He's awake!"
Looking around, I could tell that these people weren't normal pirates. The ones that had their shirts off, had the mark. What was this thing anyways? A man wearing, pretty much, rags, came over to me. He pulled open my mouth and looked inside. He looked in my ears and tested my strength. He took out a piece of paper and made a little note. Then, he went up to the deck without a word.
I was puzzled. But, before I could think about it for any longer, a man wearing only a cloth between his legs and had the mark on his chest came over to me. He held a musket pistol in his hand. Pointing it at me, he motioned for me to follow him. I did. He brought me up to the deck. There, I saw my father, he had tears in his eyes.
"Do I have to?" He asked. The man that examined me nodded. What was going on? My father held a sword in his hand, he walked over to me and shouted some chant.
"This is he, the one to save you. Take his blood, take his life, for yours!" Then he said, "I'm sorry son." He took his sword thrust it toward my heart. I ducked, his sword trimmed the top of my hair. I pushed up and kicked him in between the legs. My father dropped to the ground. Another ,half-naked, man lunged at me. I punched him in the jaw and grabbed my fathers sword. Then, a man pushed through the crowd.
"My turn," he said.
"Go Smar!" The crew yelled. Smar was the man that had examined me. He had a musket pistol in hand, aimed right at my forehead. Taking my sword, I flipped through the air. When I reached Smar I swung my blade. It gashed his stomach. Smar fell to the ground. Looking around, I noticed everyone was about ready to kill me. So, I jumped over the edge of the boat. I splashed into the water. As I hit I noticed a long scaly tail swimming around. Then another. And another, and another. Mermaids!
I panicked. I knew these beasts foul tricks.
"Cannonball," they said in sing-song voice. Don't listen to them. Too late. I stared right into the eyes of one. It was beautifully majestic. Her eyes shined blue. I started to sink to the bottom of the ocean as I watched the mermaid. Her long green tail swept through the water. I didn't even notice I was running out of air. Suddenly a shadow swept over me. There was thousands of mermaids swimming around me. The one I had been watching swam up to me. Her long brown hair swimming in the waves.
Then, the beautiful creature turned into a monster. Her teeth became the sharpest I've ever seen, along with her finger nails. On top of that, her eyes turned a glowing red. No! She lunged at me, her teeth ready to bear into my neck. I pushed away and tried to get to the surface. But, the mermaids blocked me off. I tried breaking through, but there was too many off them And to make things worse, a gigantic tentacle slithered up toward me.
I could see more tentacles. Was it an octopus? Of course not. A kraken! The mermaids started to dart of. But, one came over to me and grabbed my wrist. It pulled me with it. As the kraken chased the other mermaids, the on that saved me brought me up to the surface. This one didn't appear to be evil and she looked about my age, 14.
"Who are you? Why'd you save me?" I asked.
"I am the good one of the few good mermaids. My name is Coral, daughter of Ariel and Eric."
Part III
"Wait, Ariel. Like from the fairy tale." I said.
"Well that's rude." Coral responded.
"Sorry. I-"
I was cut of by a loud screech. Mermaids. Coral grabbed my wrist and swam to a nearby island. We climbed on shore. That was close. But when I turned to thank Coral, she was lying on the sand, flopping.
"Coral!" I yelled. I started to roll her into the water. But, she flopped too much. I kept trying, but it was useless.
Then, Corals skin started to crack. A bright light came out of the cracks. Oh no! I Pushed her, but she flopped back out of the water. No!
"Don't bother, William." Coral said.
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
"I've said to much." Coral said frantically as she exploded to a pile of ash. I screamed and fell backwards. I watched as the ashes washed into the water and for some reason a tear trickled down my face. I barely even new her yet, I felt like chasing her ashes into the water. But, I sat there on the sand crying.
I got up and walked deeper inland. I found a rock overhang and went under it. There was a snake curled up in the corner. I sat down, knowing that this was the end. This was were I'd die. I fell on the sand. and closed my eyes. Then I felt a sharp prick in my arm as the snake bit me.
I awoke in a cot with a cloth around my head. I had no shirt on. And on my chest was the strange mark and instantly I recognized it. It was from a legend. Something about the Blood Dragon. This couldn't be real.
Taking in my surroundings. I realized that I was back home. My dad walked into the room. He looked at me and said four words: "You have been marked." I was puzzled. What was he talking about? My brain was hurting. Then the mark started to glow. I saw images of Coral. Of her ashes washing away. Nothing was making sense. Then I woke up on a piece of drift wood. I saw the Candlelight burning. I must have hit my head after the explosion. In the distance I could see land with houses. That meant people. That meant I wouldn't die today.
Nate is a 6th grader at Homer Jr High School and his best friend is Connor George who's in his class.
Part I
Boom! The cannon fired off. I watched as the cannon ball flew through the air right toward our ship. It struck the Candlelight with a big blow. I ran to the stern with a bucket. A started scooping water off the boat. It wasn't working, the boat started to lean. Boom! Another cannon ball hit the boat. The Candlelight still stood. Then, a pirate from the opposing vessel swung across to our boat. he threw a match at a gunpowder barrel. I ran to the edge of the boat and jumped. The boat exploded as I hit the water.
When I woke up, I was on the shore of an island. I got up an walked toward an old looking bridge that went across a canyon. As I walked across it, it broke. I fell, knowing that this would be my end. I thought back to when my father sent me with the pirates because he hated me. Why, why would I think of that right before my death?
Wham! I smacked against the canyon floor, definitely breaking a few ribs. Everything spun. How was I still alive? I slowly stood up, dazed. I noticed that I had a bloody nose. I ripped off part of my shirt and held it aver my nose. I slowly made my way to the canyon wall. Holding a hand against it, I know noticed a weird pattern running along it. It looked as if it was just random designs. But, as I looked closer, I could tell that there was same significance behind it. I ran my had along it. As I did so, I heard a voice behind me.
"Come."
I turned around, hoping that it wasn't going to turn into a duel. Then, I noticed that the man was unarmed. He was wearing nothing, besides a clothe wrapped between his legs. He had black hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo on his chest of the markings that were on the wall. Instantly, I remembered seeing the mark before.
It was when my father sent me off. One of the pirates was without a shirt. On his chest, was the mark. He had been the one that cared for me, I never learned his name. But, one day, he went missing. It was a stormy day. My blonde hair flew in the wind, my hazel eyes were filled with terror. The captain told me to forget about it, and that the man with the mark was a traitor.
I looked at the man in the canyon with me. He, he was the "traitor". I couldn't believe it. I thought the captain had killed him and threw his body out to see. But, no. He was alive the whole time, but if he's here does that mean that he really is a traitor? No, that couldn't be. Could it? I stared at him and asked him.
"Are you really a traitor?"
"Yes," he replied. I was full of hatred. I don't know why? I guess because he was the only father figure I ever actually had. Then again, maybe my father was just doing the best for me.
"Come," the marked man said.
"Fine," I didn't want to come with him, more of kill him. We walked into the darkness of the canyon.
"How old are you now, William?" he asked.
Not that stupid name again. William is my name, but most people just call me Cannonball. It's a nickname from the crew. We all have cool ones like that. Like, Captain Fatty, that's more of one the crew keeps to ourselves.
"14," I answered.
We stopped talking after that. Soon we arrived at a cave. We went in. There was three other marked men standing there. And I recognized one. I thought back to when my father told me I had to leave. A ship had just pulled up to the harbor. Pirates. Although the were disguised as merchants, everyone knew who they really were. They came to my door. I thought, then, that my father hated me, but now I remember, the man that never cries had a tear trickle down his face. And now, the man here, in the cave, was my father!
My father! He was with this weird tribe of marked men. I eyeballed him up and down. This couldn't be. I felt a surge of anger. I pulled out my sword and charged my father. Another marked man leaped at me, pushing me to the ground. I jumped up and jabbed my sword into the attackers heart. He gasped for air, but none came, he was dead. I reared up and went for my father. This time, no one stopped me, I made it to my father, sliced his left cheek, and pulled back. My father picked up a rock and flung it at me. I ducked, and it hit the marked man behind me. Now, it was just me, my father, and the man who brought me here. My father, then, picked a short sword up, off the ground.
I ran at my father. He held his sword in front of him to block. Clang! Our swords hit and locked. Shunk! I pulled my sword away and went for his heart. I almost made it, but I felt a sharp pain in my back. I hit the ground and everything went black.
Part II.
I was in the crew quarters of a boat. There was a stinging in my back.
"Smar!" A man yelled. "He's awake!"
Looking around, I could tell that these people weren't normal pirates. The ones that had their shirts off, had the mark. What was this thing anyways? A man wearing, pretty much, rags, came over to me. He pulled open my mouth and looked inside. He looked in my ears and tested my strength. He took out a piece of paper and made a little note. Then, he went up to the deck without a word.
I was puzzled. But, before I could think about it for any longer, a man wearing only a cloth between his legs and had the mark on his chest came over to me. He held a musket pistol in his hand. Pointing it at me, he motioned for me to follow him. I did. He brought me up to the deck. There, I saw my father, he had tears in his eyes.
"Do I have to?" He asked. The man that examined me nodded. What was going on? My father held a sword in his hand, he walked over to me and shouted some chant.
"This is he, the one to save you. Take his blood, take his life, for yours!" Then he said, "I'm sorry son." He took his sword thrust it toward my heart. I ducked, his sword trimmed the top of my hair. I pushed up and kicked him in between the legs. My father dropped to the ground. Another ,half-naked, man lunged at me. I punched him in the jaw and grabbed my fathers sword. Then, a man pushed through the crowd.
"My turn," he said.
"Go Smar!" The crew yelled. Smar was the man that had examined me. He had a musket pistol in hand, aimed right at my forehead. Taking my sword, I flipped through the air. When I reached Smar I swung my blade. It gashed his stomach. Smar fell to the ground. Looking around, I noticed everyone was about ready to kill me. So, I jumped over the edge of the boat. I splashed into the water. As I hit I noticed a long scaly tail swimming around. Then another. And another, and another. Mermaids!
I panicked. I knew these beasts foul tricks.
"Cannonball," they said in sing-song voice. Don't listen to them. Too late. I stared right into the eyes of one. It was beautifully majestic. Her eyes shined blue. I started to sink to the bottom of the ocean as I watched the mermaid. Her long green tail swept through the water. I didn't even notice I was running out of air. Suddenly a shadow swept over me. There was thousands of mermaids swimming around me. The one I had been watching swam up to me. Her long brown hair swimming in the waves.
Then, the beautiful creature turned into a monster. Her teeth became the sharpest I've ever seen, along with her finger nails. On top of that, her eyes turned a glowing red. No! She lunged at me, her teeth ready to bear into my neck. I pushed away and tried to get to the surface. But, the mermaids blocked me off. I tried breaking through, but there was too many off them And to make things worse, a gigantic tentacle slithered up toward me.
I could see more tentacles. Was it an octopus? Of course not. A kraken! The mermaids started to dart of. But, one came over to me and grabbed my wrist. It pulled me with it. As the kraken chased the other mermaids, the on that saved me brought me up to the surface. This one didn't appear to be evil and she looked about my age, 14.
"Who are you? Why'd you save me?" I asked.
"I am the good one of the few good mermaids. My name is Coral, daughter of Ariel and Eric."
Part III
"Wait, Ariel. Like from the fairy tale." I said.
"Well that's rude." Coral responded.
"Sorry. I-"
I was cut of by a loud screech. Mermaids. Coral grabbed my wrist and swam to a nearby island. We climbed on shore. That was close. But when I turned to thank Coral, she was lying on the sand, flopping.
"Coral!" I yelled. I started to roll her into the water. But, she flopped too much. I kept trying, but it was useless.
Then, Corals skin started to crack. A bright light came out of the cracks. Oh no! I Pushed her, but she flopped back out of the water. No!
"Don't bother, William." Coral said.
"How do you know my name?" I asked.
"I've said to much." Coral said frantically as she exploded to a pile of ash. I screamed and fell backwards. I watched as the ashes washed into the water and for some reason a tear trickled down my face. I barely even new her yet, I felt like chasing her ashes into the water. But, I sat there on the sand crying.
I got up and walked deeper inland. I found a rock overhang and went under it. There was a snake curled up in the corner. I sat down, knowing that this was the end. This was were I'd die. I fell on the sand. and closed my eyes. Then I felt a sharp prick in my arm as the snake bit me.
I awoke in a cot with a cloth around my head. I had no shirt on. And on my chest was the strange mark and instantly I recognized it. It was from a legend. Something about the Blood Dragon. This couldn't be real.
Taking in my surroundings. I realized that I was back home. My dad walked into the room. He looked at me and said four words: "You have been marked." I was puzzled. What was he talking about? My brain was hurting. Then the mark started to glow. I saw images of Coral. Of her ashes washing away. Nothing was making sense. Then I woke up on a piece of drift wood. I saw the Candlelight burning. I must have hit my head after the explosion. In the distance I could see land with houses. That meant people. That meant I wouldn't die today.
Nate is a 6th grader at Homer Jr High School and his best friend is Connor George who's in his class.